Death
by Violet Rose of Darkness
Summary: Celeste was never really bothered by death until someone important to her dies. Set in my AU.


**Okay, so I went to a funeral of a loved one yesterday and this was basically how I felt. Please enjoy.**

OoOoOo

Death was a strange thing.

Even Celeste Wayne, who was more or less the princess of death, pondered it every now and then. Sure, she was technically supposed to live forever, but that didn't mean she would. There was a sort of loophole for the long-lasting life given to the Amazons as a gift from the Gods; they would never die from aging or mortal diseases, but they were able to be killed in battle.

That was fine by her, she didn't _want_ to live forever. It had to get boring eventually, right? She figured death would take her when she was ready. Or maybe it wouldn't. It was hard to tell since she had the blood of the God of Death running through her veins. Still, she figured she would just let things run its course. For now, death would never affect her.

Until the day it did.

* * *

 _Celeste groaned as she looked through yet another form that needed her signature. Why had she agreed to run Wayne Enterprises again? Oh yeah, because her father practically dragged her from her job as a mechanical engineer and forced her to take over the business. It's not like she hadn't seen this coming; as the only "legitimate" Wayne heir (she thought this was bull since Terry was just as qualified to run it as her given their shared parentage and Dick and Tim were both legally adopted), she was the only one who could take the company back from Powers._

 _Did she really hate it? Not always. Sometimes, it could be enjoyable and she liked doing her family name proud. Other times there were things that made her want to fling her desk out of the window. Namely, irritating board members that couldn't get it into their heads that she was in charge now. People there often didn't take her seriously because she wasn't her father. Not that it bothered her, she would either just ignore them or fire them if they let this disdain for her interfere with their jobs._

 _She was so engrossed with her work that Celeste actually jumped when her cellphone rang. She quickly composed herself and looked at the caller ID before answering it. "What is it Terry?" she snapped. "You know you're not supposed to call me at work."_

 _"_ ** _Yeah, yeah I know. It's just..._** _"_ _Terry didn't finish his sentence as he promptly began to sob violently._

 _This caught her attention. "Terry, what's wrong?" she asked frantically. She'd never seen him cry in all the years that she's known him. This cold feeling settled into her stomach and she knew something had gone horribly wrong. "Are you alright? Did something happen to Dana or-?"_

" **He's gone.** "

 _Celeste froze at his words. She didn't need to ask who he was talking about. Who else could it be? That meant_ he _was gone... Suddenly, she couldn't breathe. Her chest was tight and her mind wouldn't form proper thoughts. After about five minutes of silence, she finally managed to reply coolly, "I guess we'll need to set a funeral date now, won't we?"_

* * *

For the next few weeks, Celeste couldn't feel anything. It was like her heart just stopped completely. Rex, bless him, tried his best to comfort her only to have her unresponsive. She was eternally grateful for him, she would have just broken up with someone as emotionless as her. Olive and Jon attempted to console her as well, but she just... shut down. She buried herself in work and missions just to avoid succumbing to her heart.

Of course, as his eldest child she still had a funeral to plan. She spared no expense on his service. Then again, Terry, Dick, and Tim did most of the planning, she just supplied the funds. She couldn't find it in herself to care, he wouldn't have wanted anything extravagant. He'd probably be content with a cookout that contained his family and friends complaining about what a pain in the ass he had been.

She allowed herself a bitter smile at the thought, maybe that was what she'd do. To keep up appearances, they definitely needed a public service, but after that they would have another one and it'd only be family and close friends celebrating his life. She pitched the idea to her brothers who thought that it was a wonderful idea.

And with that, everything was set. The public service would be in late April and the private one would be in early May.

The public service came and went. It was mostly full of business partners and employees of her father, none of them really knew him so she didn't give a damn about them. The entire event seemed to have come in gone in front of her eyes. She was blank and emotionless as she spoke, alluding to the fact that she was alright with him dying, that he was in a better place.

Then came the private service about two weeks later.

OoOoOo

Celeste's face was blank as people went up and spoke. The difference between this one and the last one was that she actually paid full attention to whoever was speaking. These people knew her father, these were people her father trusted and she trusted them by extension. The first one to start it off was her uncle Clark, then her uncle Wally, then her aunt Shayera, and finally her uncle John. The remaining (now retired) founders of the Justice League mourning their fallen ally.

Then it was other members of the Justice League Unlimited, both old and new. Some knew him personally, others only knew him though his reputation. That was alright because they all respected him. Her friends and husband spoke of him fondly, referring to him as "Uncle Bruce." This made the corners of mouth turn up slightly.

Her brothers went up before her. Dick spoke of how her father had taken him in and given him something he never thought he'd have again; a family. Tim told the crowd of how his fate had changed because of one man. Terry mentioned that he had been just another punk with no future until her father had given him a purpose. All three of them had gotten emotional during the service, yet she hadn't shed a tear.

Even she was surprised when Jason arrived. She was even more surprised when he went up to speak. He divulged his clear distaste for her father, but if you really knew Jason you knew he was just as upset as the rest of them. There was an underlying tone of compassion as he spoke and she thought she saw a tear trickle from his eye, but when she blinked to get a better look, it was gone.

Finally, it was her turn. Slowly, Celeste made her way from her seat up to the podium. She looked around the room and noticed everyone's expectant eyes on her. She swallowed, suddenly shy for the first time in her life. She took a shuddering breath and began, "Bruce Wayne was many things." She cursed herself for starting off so awkwardly. "A man, a hero, but most importantly, a father and friend to many."

She paused, trying to remember what she had rehearsed, but found that she had forgotten everything. She suddenly couldn't even keep her voice from shaking. "My f-father was arrogant a-and condescending a-a lot of the time, but-" She couldn't even finish as she began to sob violently.

Through her tears, she saw mostly everyone was giving her a sympathetic look, including her friends and husband. But her brothers, oh her brothers. Just from a look in their eyes, she could tell they were sharing her pain.

It finally hit her, her father was dead. As in gone, as in never coming back. He would never be there to nag her about how she ran the company or tell her she was being dramatic every time she and Rex had a fight. And he died from natural cause, which meant that she couldn't even bring him back. Not that he would want her to anyway.

Celeste took a couple of breaths, trying to pull herself together. "There was no one on Earth like my father," she continued. "There was no one as brave or as selfless or with as big a heart. He cared deeply for my brothers and I and probably everyone in this room." She gave a little chuckle and wiped her eyes. "He'd probably kick my ass for crying like this over his death."

This earned her a few snickers from the audience and she allowed herself to smile. "But what's for certain is that he will be missed by many, both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman. I was very lucky to have this remarkable man to raise me." With that, she retreated from the stage, but not before lightly kissing her finger tips and pressing them to her father's picture. "Goodbye, _Pateroúlis_."

Then she went to sit next to Rex who immediately took her hand in his and lightly rubbed his thumb along her knuckles.

OoOoOo

 **Possibly the saddest thing I've ever written in my life. I hope you liked it and please review.**


End file.
